Should i use carbon in a planted tank

Things like tannins and the nasty stuff that makes your tanks stink after a while. You still have to treat your water. Carbon also absorbs a lot of the things floating around in your aquarium, that your plants would typically thrive on. So the bottom line is, if you are a planted tank person, take the carbon out, just keep it out of there.

So here is my advice on the use of carbon in your aquarium. These techniques have produced some of the most successful, stable, long term tanks in the industry - clearly destroying the myth that carbon is detrimental to running a planted tank. These are not necessary in a planted tank and do not help solve algae issues. Plants require a certain amount of phosphates and nitrogen to grow well and these resins risk stripping the water entirely of necessary nutrients. If your tap water is within limits suitable for human consumption, generally there will be not such a large imbalance of elements as to cause serious issues.

Here's a table that gives you a good idea of what is removed by carbon. September 15, 6 min read. May 06, 4 min read. July 16, 3 min read. Be the first to get exclusive offers and content, plus new aquascaping ideas and insights. We'll never spam you or share your details with unscrupulous third parties.

If it isn't fun or interesting, we won't send it. The all-in-one wonder. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Carbon in filter no good for planted tanks? So I was at the pet store buying some plants and one of the workers there told me that I should take out the carbon out of my filter and use a sponge for filtration she said that the carbon in the pads takes all the nutrients you add to the plants.

Is this true? I didn't want to buy the sponge pad before doing some research I sometimes don't pet store workers I feel like they want to sell you everything they can even if you don't really need it.

Does anybody have any idea? Anybody use sponge in their filter? I use sponge filter but for aesthetic purpose it doesn't look that great in a tank. Activated carbon absorbs chemicals so in a sense, yes it does absorb some of the chemicals that plants use but its never enough to absorb all of it. And yes, using activated carbon and dosing ferts are counter productive.

If you already have a Hob filter and don't want to purchase a sponge filter then just take the carbon out and put in some ceramic rings in a bag and replace it.

I took the carbon filter out of my Aquaclear and replaced it with Seachems Purigen bags. So now I have, from bottom to top in my filter cage, two laters of quilt filler, pot scrubbers, small squares of old sponge filter, Ceramic Bio-max bags and two Purigens. Of course that is thanks to Badrad for showing me most of that combination. I suddenly and quite clearly see the root of all of my plant woes. Excuse me, I need to go.

Click to expand HI Angelfish13,. Using carbon in a planted tank is fine. It does not take any of the fertilizers out of the water for the plants. It is not a necessary part of your tanks daily chemical filtration, in my opinion.

It works well for removing medications from your tank if you ever need to use them for your fish. It will also make your water crystal clear. But if you want to use it, then it will not have any negative effects on keeping plants. HI Angelfish13, The store employee is correct; activated carbon does remove the nutrients that we add like fertilizers from our water.

Yes, ceramic rings will do fine. I use Fluval ceramic rings but any material that has a lot of pores for the bb to grow would work. I have aqueon filters and just cut a slit in the filter pad and dump out the carbon. They work fine without it. Not sure who here thinks that carbon will remove nutrients from a planted tank, and therefore be harmful to the plants, but it is not true.

Running carbon in a tank with plants and ferts is fine. It is not necessary though. With decent mechanical filtration from filter pads, sponges, etc combined with regular water changes , you wouldn't have any issues with water clarity.

If for some reason you do, however, pick up a pack of purigen. It polishes water like nothing else around. I just leave them empty unless I want to pull meds out of the water then I can just put some back in for a few days.

I have used bio rings just in a mesh bag in behind the filter pad but not all the time. There are as many articles out there stating that carbon does not remove iron, or any other nutrients , as there are that state that it does.

You really can't believe everything you read. I am speaking from experience from using carbon in planted tanks that have been dosed with dry ferts, including iron to add color for red plants. With or without carbon, I had excellent growth, and no ill affects from using carbon. I am basing this off of experience, and discussions with people who also have experience outside of a forum to gather information. Stating something on a forum does not make it true.

Nor does stating it off a forum. And speaking as someone who has more than his fair share of experience with planted tanks, I've found carbon to do more harm than good and it certainly doesn't provide a benefit to the planted tank. Argue if you wish. I never said it added any benefits. What harm did your plants have from using it?

Mod hat on: Remember that rule number one on Fishlore is "Be polite.